Mark Stetler

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Mark Stetler (Bio)

Mark Stetler's life and career in photography span more than twenty years. Born in Cleveland, Stetler studied photography at the Art Institute of Atlanta where he earned a BA as well as top academic and best portfolio awards. Seeking to further his education he moved to New York in 1993 to atte… Read More

Mark Stetler (Bio)

Mark Stetler's life and career in photography span more than twenty years. Born in Cleveland, Stetler studied photography at the Art Institute of Atlanta where he earned a BA as well as top academic and best portfolio awards. Seeking to further his education he moved to New York in 1993 to attend NYU. While in New York he soon began assisting many of the worlds most respected photographers such as Mary Ellen Mark and Richard Avedon. Inspirational relationships with Avedon and others led to creative ventures of his own in landscape, portraiture and fashion, fields where he currently shoots for clients worldwide.
Stetler's fine art and portraiture work has gained recognition through the Kontinent Award Fine Art Project 2013, Graphis Gold Award Top 100 Photographers 2013 and 2014, PDN/Mamiya’s Emerging Photographer's Award and the publication of his images of September 11th shot from the rooftop of his studio near the World Trade Center. Numerous exhibitions of his work have followed.
Landscapes shot in and around Charleston, SC where Stetler currently resides have inspired a new body of work combining his affinity with nature with his fascination with the pinhole camera to create enigmatic images shot “without glass”.
An avid sailor, Stetler has captained his boat Alliance through many of the waters depicted in his photographs.

Mark Stetler (Statement)

My interest in photography began at a very early age. Long drives in the family auto led to countless mental photographs as the Midwestern landscape blurred by. While my modern photographic processes tend to capture small moments of time, the pinhole takes larger spans of time and extracts these moments into a single image. The pinhole camera can readily incorporate time and motion into this lengthy exposure provoking associations with memory, time, or dreams. The camera absent of a technical lens transfers the reality of these moments into a dynamic play of light and shadows. This relationship both chemical and physical presents itself in the changes of light and objects.
My interest in the ocean and the coastal environment seek to involve the viewer to restore our connections to the sea.

Inquiries regarding print purchase, licensing and the commission of special projects: info@markstetler.org

Press/Images: www.markstetler.org Read Less

Press

Woodstock Times
Smart Art
by Paul Smart

Stetler: Auspicious Opening

Mark Stetler of Olive, New York and Manhattan, started his career as a photographer about as close to the top as one can get. After moving to New York in 1994 to pursue his dream he landed a job working as an assistant to Richard Avedon, then t… Read More

Woodstock Times
Smart Art
by Paul Smart

Stetler: Auspicious Opening

Mark Stetler of Olive, New York and Manhattan, started his career as a photographer about as close to the top as one can get. After moving to New York in 1994 to pursue his dream he landed a job working as an assistant to Richard Avedon, then the field's top talent in both its commercial and art markets.

Stetler had already been named a Mamiya Emerging Photographer when his images of September 11th's World Trade Center fireball, shot from the rooftop of his apartment, were bought by Corbis stock and published around the world.

He has since buoyed his successful New York-based commercial career, which has focused on fashion and portraiture, with color pinhole work that captures the mysteries of unpeopled landscapes.

Stetler's first exhibition of fine art photography, entitled "Nature Without Glass", opens at Galerie BMG on Tannery Brook, just off Tinker Street in the center of Woodstock, with a reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, January 6.

The work captures much that is familiar for those of us who live in these parts, albeit captured in extraordinary ways…the reservoir at dawn, enshrouded in mist; winter woods seemingly akin to MacBeth's fated Burnham Forest; a moody shoreline of rocks and unmoving water. In all, a stillness that's part hopeful, Zen-like, and part sad, broken retreat…in both senses of the word.

Sweet and timely stuff that may do more to capture the new sense of Diaspora that's changing the region, and our changed sense of natural beauty, in the years since our national disaster.

It's a hell of a great inaugural show by an important new artistic talent.

ArtSpace
By Sue Stovall

During this season of snow covered, bounteous beauty, the importance of art in our lives is reflected in the landscape and in the many galleries and artspaces in the Catskill Region and surrounding areas. From the vibrant landscapes of a Cuban-American painter to the two very different views of Woodstock by a husband and wife artist; from a first show of a photographer who was an assistant to Richard Avedon to a group show of artists who helped establish Woodstock as one of the premier artists’ colonies and much more, this region is displaying it’s creative allure both indoors and out.Nature Without Glass is the first exhibition at Galerie BMG of fine art photography by Mark Stetler, a resident of Olive, NY, and a successful commercial photographer in Manhattan. While his New York City career has focused on fashion and portraiture, this new body of personal work builds on his affinity with nature and combines it with his fascination with the pinhole camera to present his own unique viewpoint. Stetler hikes into the woods, along the coast or in the mountains and returns with images that reveal hidden places and give us a glimpse of a rare moment in time, not typically seen. The enigmatic color landscapes are shot “without glass,” using a pinhole camera to capture those mysterious moments just before dawn or the obscured vision in stormy weather. He moved to New York in 1994 to pursue his lifelong interest in photography and worked as an assistant to Richard Avedon, which further fueled his interest in the photography industry and in portraiture, in particular. Mark has achieved worldwide visibility through his recognition as a Mamiya Emerging Photographer and through publication of his images of September 11, shot from the rooftop of his apartment near the World Trade Center.Nature Without Glass will be on display from January 5 through February 12, with an artist’s reception scheduled for Saturday, January 6 from 5 to 7 pm. Galerie BMG is on Tannery Brook Road in Woodstock. Winter gallery hours are Friday through Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm, or other times by appointment. For more information, please call 212.495.9807.

Photo Detector
Mark Stetler
"Nature Without Glass"

Nature Without Glass is the first exhibition of fine art photography by Mark Stetler, a resident of Olive, New York and a successful commercial photographer in Manhattan. While his NYC career has focused on fashion and portraiture, this new body of personal work builds on his affinity with nature and combines it with his fascination with the pinhole camera to presents his own unique viewpoint.Mark hikes into the woods or along the coast or in the mountains near his home and returns with images that reveal hidden places and give us a glimpse of a rare moment in time, not typically seen. The enigmatic color landscapes are shot "without glass", using a pinhole camera to capture those mysterious moments just before dawn or the obscured vision in stormy weather.Mark Stetler moved to New York in 1994 to pursue his life long interest in photography and worked as an assistant to Richard Avedon, which further fueled his interest in the photography industry and in portraiture, in particular. Mark has achieved worldwide visibility through his recognition as a Mamiya Emerging Photographer and through publication of his images of September 11, shot from the rooftop of his apartment near the World Trade Center.The show runs through February 1 Read Less